| China's
water and membrane: problems, efforts and opportunities
Water
shortage
and water pollution are the two major
problems in China's urban water supply.
Water shortage
More than 400 of China's 672 cities are short of water and
160 cities are forced to impose water restrictions. The water
shortages cost US $24.2 billion in industrial output a year.
Fresh water scarcity aside, water utilization remains frustrating,
which is as low as 40% in farm irrigation and 55% in industry
at average. Meanwhile, water leakage in urban supplying channels
is shocking, exceeding 15%. About 21.5% of urban supply networks
leak water, wasting 10 billion cubic meters a year
A
multi-billion-dollar project is under way to divert southern
water to arid northern cities. Involving an investment of
US $59 billion, the project will deliver 44.8 billion cubic
meters of water to the north each year, upon completion
in the middle of this century.
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Water pollution
Monitoring water quality at 741 checkpoints
on China's top 7 rivers showed that less than 30% reached
level 3, or the medium level in the nation's 5-grade index
for water quality monitoring, while 41% were below the worst
level of 5.
For
budget restraint, over 60% of the 2,418 projects planned
for water pollution treatment between 2001 and 2005, involving
a total investment of about US $23.2 billion, are still
plans on paper. But the Central Government has urged that
all projects that have not been started in line with the
Five-Year Plan (2001-2005) must be launched in 2004.
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Efforts:
breaking up the monopoly
China has recently broken up the monopoly on the municipal service
sectors to both domestic and overseas investors in an effort to
attract more investment. Such sectors of water supply, gas supply,
heating, sewage treatment, waste treatment, public transit, environmental
protection and environmental sanitation were formerly monopolized
by State-owned enterprises. Nearly US $12 billion will be needed
for the already registered infrastructure projects in China.
Water
fever
A water fever has developed among domestic listed companies as
it promises good development prospects, and stable and high returns.
Reports say listed domestic water companies post one of the highest
rates of return while water plants run by foreign investors can
rake in returns of over 20%. Many international companies, such
as Berlinwasser, ITT and Veolia Water, are increasing their investment
in China
According
to China's Tenth-Five-Year (2001-2005) Plan, the annual output
of the water-supply industry will soar from the current US $7.2
billion to US $24 billion by 2005. Research shows that China's
water business will maintain an annual 15% growth for a considerably
long period. By 2005 China will increase its water supply capacity
by 40 million cubic meters a day and need up to US $120 billion
of investment, but the governments can allocate only US $24-36
billion. The remaining money must be raised from foreign investment,
bank loans and other places such as the capital market.
Every
year, 20 billion square meters of living quarters are completed
in China, bringing exciting business to water supply and wastewater
treatment investors.
China's
sewage water treatment industry has also entered a new stage of
fast expansion. Statistics indicates that 3.7 billion tons of
sewage is discharged daily in China. By 2005, about 45% of China's
urban wastewater should be treated, up from the current 29%. By
2010, some 10,000 sewage treatment plants will have been completed
to increase the treatment ratio to the required 50%.
Membrane:
promising market
With the worsening of water shortage, China is attaching greater
importance to membrane technology for sustainable development,
striving to develop new water treatment technology and improve
water environment. Membrane technology is on the list of programs
of the 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-2005) for the Development of
Science and Technology formulated by the Ministry of Science and
Technology. It is also receiving special funds from the National
Development and Reform Commission for further development and
applications. The market for the membrane technology becomes more
promising following the extensive applications in the petrochemical,
medical, pharmaceutical, electrical and food industries. China's
membrane market foresees a demand of 20 billion RMB (US $2.4 billion)
in 2015 along with the current annual growth of 15% in the output
value.
Beijing-golden
investment era before Olympics 2008
Beijing
discharges 1.2 billion tons of sewage, almost half of which are
untreated, into its waterways annually. In recent years, the Beijing
government has massively invested in wastewater treatment and
improved water quality in its rivers and reservoirs. Under the
city government's program for the 2008 Olympic Games, 9 more sewage
plants will be built to achieve the goal of treating 90 percent
of the wastewater, and the fund for these projects will mainly
be raised by market means. The city government has kept investing
US $120 million in building sewage treatment facilities a year
over the last few years. However, to meet the demand to create
a good environment for a best ever Olympic Games, the annual investment
must be doubled.
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